GLOBAL – The Eurofins Assurance network has launched a new Zero Waste to Landfill Certification Service in an effort to provide companies with a ‘fact-based’ system to display their efforts to redirect waste away from landfill.
The Eurofins certification assesses and verifies the effort taken to minimize waste disposal to landfills by businesses.
After completion of the audit process, the companies will be awarded Zero Waste to Landfill Certificates they can advertise to ease customers’ minds.
“Our certification provides fact-based findings and conclusions that are generated from a series of actions under our stringent certification protocol,” said Christophe Liebon, director of Eurofins Assurance.
“Waste ledgers are checked, waste management systems are verified, waste diversion work, records and calculations are validated and some other criteria are controlled.”
There are three achievement levels: Zero Waste to Landfill Certificate, Near Zero Waste to Landfill Certificate and Advanced Waste Diversion Certificate.
The service is designed for different kinds of industries by environmental audit experts with particular knowledge in solid waste and hazardous waste areas.
To receive Eurofins certifications, companies must demonstrate diversion over 99%, 95-99%, and 85-99% of waste to landfill, respectively.
Using this method, it is hoped that customers can use the certificates themselves, as well as data and reports, to display their progress toward sustainable business practices.
This is also expected to facilitate transparency into the company’s operations, which Eurofins claims is a vital component in achieving a ‘more collaborative and engaging ESG landscape.’
The criteria in the assessment echo the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns, dubbed “responsible consumption and production.”
The UN Goal considers manufacturers’ climate, biodiversity and pollution impacts when creating their products.
While industrial waste is an inevitable part of the manufacturing process, there are pathways to reduce its amount and choosing cleaner options.
Liebon states that the certification methods fit the packaging industry where plastic waste in oceans and rivers end up in marine life and human bodies.
“The packaging companies can understand how they are performing against their zero waste targets, identify gaps and work on improvements, and most of all, present their achievement with the certificates backed by data to government bodies and the public,” he concludes.
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